R2 Le Rooftop des Terrasses in Marseille's 2e Joliette is the 1,000m2 open-air club on top of the Terrasses du Port shopping centre, with house, techno and live billings under the stars overlooking the Frioul Islands.
Tip: Programming runs late May to early September; tickets €15-30 on Shotgun. Access by lift from inside the Terrasses du Port mall.
Address: 9 Quai du Lazaret, 13002 Marseille
Toit-Terrasse de la Friche in Marseille's 3e Belle de Mai is the 8,000m2 rooftop at La Friche Belle de Mai, with summer Friday-Saturday ON AIR sessions of DJ sets, live music and open-air cinema across panoramic city views.
Tip: ON AIR season runs early June to early September; bring a layer once the mistral picks up. Food trucks and bar on the roof, no need to bring anything.
Espace Julien in Marseille's 6e Cours Julien is the 800-capacity concert hall opened 1984 in the artists' district, with a rock, hip-hop, electronic and world programme, plus the Café Julien stage downstairs for emerging acts.
Tip: Tickets €18-35 via the venue site; Café Julien downstairs runs free or low-cover sets most weeknights.
Le Molotov in Marseille's 6e Cours Julien is the small Place Paul Cézanne club programming rock, reggae, hip-hop, jazz and electro since 2012, with sister rooms Le Dodu in the 3e and Théâtre Silvain in the 7e.
Tip: Tickets €8-20 on the venue site; capacity is tight so weekend bookings sell out a fortnight ahead.
Le Makeda in Marseille's 5e at the edge of La Plaine is the 270-capacity Rue Ferrari concert hall and DJ-set venue opened March 2019, run by Francine Ouedraogo Bonnot and Aude Straub on the bones of the former Poste à Galène.
Tip: Tickets €10-22; the room runs concerts plus DJ sets, scenic residencies and release parties through the week.
L'Affranchi in Marseille's 11e Saint-Marcel is the SMAC-labelled hip-hop complex inaugurated 1996, with a 380-seat concert hall, a studio and a DJ school that has hosted IAM, Akhenaton and most of the French rap roster.
Tip: €2 yearly membership added to your first ticket of the year; tickets €12-22. Bus 12 from Castellane is the easier route home.
La Caravelle on the Quai du Port in Marseille's 2e is the first-floor mezzanine bar above the Hôtel Belle-Vue, open since the 1920s, with a tiny balcony over the Vieux Port and Wednesday and Friday live jazz from 21:00.
Tip: Climb the staircase next to the hotel reception; the balcony seats six and fills first. Pastis €4 at the bar, cocktails €11-14.